Method and apparatus for shipping sheet metal



Jan. 28, 1930. R. T. ROMINE 1,745,044

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SHIPPING SHEET METAL Wed Aug. 10, 192 7 Sheetsheet 1 1 E by BY W411 (512%., W PMQ 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 28, 1930 R. T. RQMINE METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SHIPPING SHEET METAL Filed Aug 10. 1926 m m fi a W H w A g M s F 4 3 l 1, P 4 a I WW 0 W M l 2 A 4/ Q 3 W A 2 a w 9 y 0 I! /9 Jan. 28, 1930. R. T. ROMINE 1,745,044

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Jan. 28, 1930. ROMINEY 1,745,044

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SHIPPING SHEET METAL File ug- 1 192.6 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 J22 02/2 Jar.

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METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SHIPPING SHEET METAL Filed Aug. 10. 1926 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Jan. 28, 1930. R. T. ROMINE 1,745,044

7 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SHIPPING SHEET METAL Filed Aug. 10. 1926 7 SheetsSfiet 7 W T M 1 Mk4, um, MM MM Patented Jan. 28, 1930 PATENT OFFICE ROBERT T. ROMINE, OF MOUNT CLEMENS, MICHIGAN METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SHIPPING SHEET METAL Application filed August 10, 1926. Serial No. 128,396.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for handling for shipment in freight cars material, such as metal shipped in sheet or plate form, and presenting great ditficulties in the transportation thereof due to'the tendency of the material to break loose in the cars and becomedamaged and causing dam age to the cars. The invention particularly concerns the handling of material to be loaded or unloaded wherein the material, such as sheet steel, is of such weight or character as to render it impracticable or impossible to handle by hand without breaking up the bundles or packs and the separate manual handling of the constituent parts thereof. The method embraced in this invention also concerns the handling of the material after the unloading thereof, and the invention comprises a means or apparatus adapted for enabling the method to be carried out in an efiicient and practical manner.

An object of the invention is to enable material, such as sheet metal, sheet steel, or plates, to be loaded and unloaded from freight cars rapidly and with a minimum of labor, and in accordance with the preferred method a freight car having for instance approximately forty ton capacity may be loaded by carrying bodily thereinto four packs or bundles of approximately ten tons each. The material such as metal sheets or plates is carried into the car in a succession of packs or bundles such as four packs or units with the sheets mounted on their edges. Each pack is deposited bodily sheets or plates, and the sheets are thus shipped in unitary packs with the sheets of each pack supported on their edges.

In accordance with the present invention the car at its destination is readily unloaded by successively lifting each pack of sheets while on edge above the car floor, as by means of a stack lifter moved into position to straddle the pack or bundle, and the stack is deposited on a platform, or other supporting medium, and propelled or carried bodily out -of the car.

In addition to the foregoing, and in accordance with the present invention, each pack of sheets, such as in the case of sheet on the car floor without any handling of the steel for automobile bodies, may be carried or delivered at a suitable storage place, and thence each pack may be delivered to the machine or press by depositing the stack on a support in such manner as to cause the sheets of the-stack to be supported on edge with the stack or pack canted or. inclined, thus permitting each sheet to be readil fed forward from the pack into the press without scratching the sheets.

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following description and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanyin g drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view illustrating a freight car loaded in accordance with my method and in position to be unloaded at the loading dock.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating two packs or bundles of sheet metal loaded at one end of the freight car in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation showing a pack of material clamped or braced in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatical view illustrating the action of the bracing devices on the pack of sheets in the car.

Fig 4 is an end elevation of the construction shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional elevation taken substantially on lines 55 of Fig. 3.

' Fig. 6 is a fragmentary detail perspective view illustrating one of the devices for enabling the stack to be lifted by means of the stack lifter. I

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating the parts of one of the clamping or bracing devices.

Fig. 8 is a side elevation illustrating the stack lifter and electric lift truck, and the manner in which the stack lifter may be carried into or out of the freight car by means of the truck.

-Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing the manner in which the stack 0r bundle may be lifted from the freight car floor onto the platform of the lift truck or vice versa,

Fig. is a diagrammatic plan view illustrating the unloading of the freight car by means of the stack lifter and electric truck;

Fig. 11 is a view showing the manner of transferring the stack from the electric truck to a suitable delivery or storage place by means of an overhead crane.

Fig. 12 is an end elevation showing the inclined feed platform and the manner in which 10 ;he stack is delivered by the crane to the platorm.

Fig. 13 is a front elevation showing the stack with its bracing elements supported on the feed platform.

Fig. 14 is a perspective view showing the stack on the feed platform with the bracing elements removed, and the manner in which the sheets are fed from the stack to the press.

Before explaining in detail the present invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also it is.

to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation, and it is not intended to limit the invention beyond the terms of the several claims hereto appended or the requirements of the prior art.

It will be understood that the invention may be adapted in accordance with the re- 85 quirements of freight handling facilities of the particular manufacturing plant, and in Figs. 1 and 10 for the purposes of illustration the loading docks D are substantially on a level with tli floor of the freight car C, the railroad tracks running along the opposite sides of the dock and being lowered or submerged. The freight cars are customarily limited to loads of approximately forty tons, and I prefer to place in the car, as

'5 shown in Fig. 1, four packs or stacks S, two

at each end of the car with aisle spaces between the adjacent stacks and between each stack and the adjacent side wall of the car to permit the stack lifter U to be moved 1) into position to straddle the stack or pack, as shown in Fig. 9, and to lift it bodily from the floor onto the platform or conveying medium, or to lift it from the platform onto the car floor.

I5 In accordance with the present invention the metal sheets are carried or conveyed into the freight car with the sheets supported on their edges, and each pack or bundle of sheets is braced or tied in a compact unit on the car floor with the sheets on edge.

Referring particularly to Figs. 2 to 7 inclusive, I have illustrated a present form of bracing or clamping apparatus for holding the sheets of each pack together against relative movement and also against movement on the floor of the car as a result of shocks and collisions to which the cars are constantly subjected in transit. The bracing apparatus is an improvement of my copending application Serial No. 118,061, filed June 23, 1926.

When the pack or bundle of sheets is deposited on the car floor a series of wooden sills or cross members 9 are preferably first placed in position on the floor of the car, and preferably secured to the car floor so as to extend crosswise or transversely to the sheets. The bundle S is deposited, as hereinafter described, on the wooden members 9 so that the entire weight of the sheets will be carried by these members, the sheets being positioned in vertical planes on their edges as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2. In this manner it will be seen that the longitudinal bottom edge of each sheet will engage the several wood sills 9, which are spaced apart sufficiently to provide guide spaces for the bracing or clamping devices B.

The bracing or clamping apparatus in the present instance preferably comprises identical sets of devices at opposite ends of the bundle or stack S, and in addition thereto a central device preferably located midway of the bundle. The end bracing or clamping 1 devices each comprises a pair of vertical clamping and lifting bars 10 and 11 one at each vertical side of the stack, these bars being preferably constructed in the form of steel I-beams. Riveted to the lower end of eaph bar 10 and 11 is a stirrup 12 which comprises a steel bar or strap riveted at the opposite ends thereof to opposite flanges of the I-bar and bent around the lower end of the bar in loop form to provied a pair of openings or pockets at opposite sides of the bar. Loosely fitting into these openings or pockets and extending crosswise or transversely beneath the pack are a pair of spaced parallel steel bars 13. Each bar 10 and 11 at its upper and lower ends is drilled to provide holes, and the bars of each pair are adjustably connected together by means of turnbuckles 15 extending above and below the pack. Each turnbuckle has oppositely extending turnbuckle rods 14 which arethreaded at their ends and extend through the holes in the upper and lower ends of the bars 10 and 11. By means of adjusting nuts 16 on the ends of rods 14 the bars 10 and 11 at their upper and lower ends may be drawn together against the opposite sides of the pack so as to compress or squeeze the sheets together at each end thereof. IVhere the pack or stack is of different widths, the turnbuckle may be first adjusted so as to proximate in length the width of the pack, and the final adjustment to tighten the bars against the pack is accomplished by means of the upper and lower'adjusting nuts 16 on the opposite ends of the turnbuckle rods.

Each bar 10 and 11 is provided with a vertical series of spaced holes 17, so that where the sheets are of different widths, or the bundles are of difierent heights, the turnbuckle rods 14 ma extend through any of the series of holes, t ereby enabling the upper turnbuckle to be positioned as close as possible to the upper edges of the sheets without however engaging them. Secured to each bar lOand 11 is a steel eye loop 18 by means of which the bundle as hereinafter described may be lifted or lowered through the medium of the stack lifter. Each loop or .sling 18 comprises a steel bar or strap bent upo'n itself to provide an eye, or loop to receive the hook of the hoisting sheave. The flat shank 18 of the loop is provided with a pair of holes 18 spaced in accordance with the holes 17 in the bars 10 and 11, and it will be seen that the loop may be adjustably secured at different heights to either bar 10 orll by means of. a pair ofbolts andnuts 8 extending through any of the pairs of holes 17.

From this construction it will be seen that the bars 10 and 11 of each set may be drawn together at the upper and lower ends-thereof so as to squeeze or compress the pack transversely adjacent each end thereof. It will be noted that the wooden sills 9 support the pack on the car floor without permitting the sheets to engage or rest upon the steel bars 13. Upon hoisting the pack by means of the eye loop 18, the weight of the pack will be sustained by the bars 10, 11 and 13, which are connected together through the medium of the steel stirrups or loops 12. The lifting strain will be taken entirely by these elements, and none of the strain will be transmitted to the turn buckle parts 14 and 15.

The bundle is also preferably clamped or braced intermediate the sets of bracing 10-11 by means of a pair of vertical I-beams or bars 19 and 20 positioned at opposite sides of the bundle. These bars are connected together at the top and bottom thereof by means of turnbuckles 22, each having oppositely extending threaded rods 22 extending through any of a series of vertically spaced holes 21 in each bar. It will be seen from this construction that the I-bars 19 and 20 may therefore be adjusted and clamped against the opposite faces of thesheets either by 0 eratmg the turnbuckle proper or the adjusting nuts 23 on the outer ends of the turnbuckle'rods 22, the turnbuckles and adjusting nuts pro viding a compound adjusting means for the clamp or compression bars.

Bearing against the upper and lower edges of the sheets of the pack S are a pair of lengthwise spaced wooden bars or members 28 and 29. The lower set of wood members 28 and 29 are of a thickness to sustain together with the wood sills 9 the weight of the sheets and each upper and lower set of bars 28 and 29 is connected at opposite ends thereof to the bars 19 and 20 by means of clamps 24, four clamps being provided and all preferably identical in construction. The clamp'24 comprises a steel plate formed with opposite vertical side flanges 27, and the outer edge of the plate is slotted and formed with a recess 25, the metal being bent up to provide a vertical flange 26. The plate at opposite sides adjacent the base of the flange 26 is notched to provide recesses 30, and the construction is such that the I-bar 19 or 20 will fit into the recess 25 with-the flanges 20 of the I-bar fitting into the notches 30 and embracing opposite edges of the plate 26, the

latter abutting against the central web 20 of the I-bar. The ends of the wooden members 28 and 29 are confined between the flanges 27 and the opposite edges of the flange 26 and project at opposite sides of the I-bar 20. The flange portion 26 is provided with a vertical elongated slot 26 through which freely passes one of the turnbuckle rods 22. 1

I have found that by supporting the sheets edgewise with the bottom edges bearing against wood or relatively softer surfaces than the metal sheets the latter will embed themselves to a certain extent in the wood 'thereby acting as an anti-shifting medium against longitudinal movement of the sheets. I have also found that when the freight 'car is subjected to severe blows or shocks the tendency of the bundle or stack to move in the car longitudinally is not in a straight horizontal di-. rection, but rather the stack tends to rock or weave. One end of the stack will tend' to,- lift slightly relatively to the other end before shifting longitudinally. With the sheets supported on edge this shifting action is prevented by the sheets digging into the wood supports and in addition by means of the wood members 28 and 29 and clamps 24.

Referring to Fig. 3, the rocking movement of the stack in one direction is shown by dotted lines. Since the members 28 and 29 are spaced at'opposite sides of the center of the stack, greater upward pressure will be exerted against the member 28 for example than the member 29, resulting in binding or compressing the member 29 under great pressure against the upper edges of the sheets, so that the sheets will not only embed themselves'in the Wood surface of member 29 but also in member 28, thereby resisting the tendency of the stack to shift on the floor. Due to the relativelysoft character of the material this action will not result in crimping the edges of the sheets. Thebars 19 and 20 have a slight clearance at opposite sides in the recesses 25 thus enabling the clamp 24 to rock slightly about the axis of the turnbuckle rod 22. This limited relative movement compensates for any weaving or rocking action of the stack, resulting in an eflicient compressing action of the wood members 28 and 29 against the edges of the sheets when the car is subjected to collisions or shocks.

Referring to Fig. 1 the packs of metal may be successively conveyed into the freight car by means of an electric lift truck, preferably having a load capacity of ten tons. This truck may be constructed in the manner shown and described in my application for industrial truck, Serial No. 118,584., filed June 25, 1926. In order to unload the material in the car, a stack lifter U is first carried into the freight car through the doorway thereof and deposited within the car. This is accomplished by means of the lift truck T, as shown in Fig. 8. The stack lifter U after being deposited in the freight car may then be readily wheeled about within the car into the desired positions for lifting and placing the several stacks on the car floor.

With the stack lifter U for instance in the position shown in Fig. 1 the stack is carried through the doorway on the electric truck directly into position between the legs of the stack lifter, so that the latter straddles the truck platform and the stack supported thereon. Thereupon the sheave hooks 56 of the hoisting mechanism of the stack lifter are connected to the four loops or eyes 18 of the bracing devices. The stack may then be either lifted vertically above the truck platform L, or the truck platform may be lowered by operating the power mechanism of the truck so as to clear the bottom of the stack, it being understood that the stack at this time is supported by the hoisting mechanism free of the truck platform, and in either casethe Each leg comprises a pair of spaced vertical structural members which are connected together at the lower ends thereof by means of a foot or hearing plate 52. Thus it will be seen that the four legs of the stack lifter are provided with a large bearing surface on the floor of the car, permitting the device to lift a ten ton stack or bundle of metal without breaking through the floor of the car. The legs at the upper ends thereof are united toether by means of a super-structure 53 within which the hoisting mechanism is carried, and the lifter is of a height to permit it to be propelled through the doorway of the car.

The hoisting mechanism in general comprises an electric motor and gear reducer (not shown) mounted in the super-structure, and connected to a central cross shaft 62 carrying a pair of small sprockets 63. Connected to these sprockets are oppositely extending sprocket chains 64 and 65 which are connected at their outer ends respectively to relatively large sprockets 66 and 68. The sprocket 66 is secured to a cross shaft 67, and the sprocket 68 is secured to a cross shaft 69. These shafts 67 and 69 each carry at opposite ends a pair of hoisting drums 70, each having a hoisting cable 54 operating through a sheave block 55 provided with a hook 56 adapted to be connected to the bundle as above described.

The power mechanism is provided with suitable controls for enabling the four hoisting drums to raise or lower the stack, and

stack is lifted. by means of the stack lifter power is conducted to the electric motor of from the truck platform to the car floor. The truck platform L is then propelled rearward- 1y out from beneath the stack as shown in Fig.

9, and the stack then lowered and deposited on the car floor. The stack lifter U may then be wheeled away from the stack on the floor and moved into position for handling succeeding loads, or when the loading is completed may be picked up by a lift truck and carried out of the car.

The freight car at its destination is preferably unloaded in the reverse manner. The stack lifter U is brought into the car on the electric truck, in the manner shown in Fig. 8, deposited on the car floor and wheeled into osition to straddle the bundle or stack. The oisting mechanism is then connected to the loops l8 and he stack lifted vertically as shown in Fig. The lift truck platform L is then introduced beneath the stack, and the latter deposited on the platform. Thereupon the sheave hooks56 are disconnected and the bundle propelled on the platform directly out of the car as shown in Fig. 10.

The stack lifter U in the present instance briefly comprises two spaced pairs of legs 50 and 51 which are spaced apart sufficiently to ;straddle the stack in the car and also to perunit the truck platform L to be introduced bethe stack lifter by means of conductors or cables 71 directly from the battery of the electric truck T. The stack lifter is provided with four swiveled casters 57 to permit the lifter to be wheeled or propelled within the freight car when no load is carried by the lifter. Each of these casters is carried by a revolving spindle, and by means of compression springs 58 of predetermined strength the stack lifter without a load will be supported solely on the casters. When, however, a load is lifted or supported by means of the hoisting mechanism, the springs 58 and hence the casters will yield to permit the combined weight of the stack lifter and load to be supported on the legs 50 and casters, as shown in 9, thereby providing a substantial distribution of the load on the floor and enabling loads such as ten tons in weight to be bodily lifted without breaking through the car floor. To prevent the casters 57 from turning and becoming jammed between the wall of the freight car and the stack, the casters may be locked against turning by means of a lock bolt 59. The stack lifter U is also provided with two sets of swiveled or swinging dogs 60 to enable the truck platform L to be introduced between the legs 50 and 51 and lift the stack lifter bodily on the truck platform.

tween the pairs of legs, as shown in Fig. 8. When the four dogs 60 are swung into the position shown in full lines in Fig. 8 so as to project inwardly over the truck platform, the truck platform L when elevatedby the power mechanism ofthe truck, will engage the bottom portions 60 of the dogs. Thus the stack lifter will be elevated from the floor by the truck and carried from point to point through the medium of the lifting dogs 60.

After the stack or pack of metal has'been I carried out of the freight car, as shown in Fig. 10, it may be propelled by means of the lift truck to a suitable storage or receiving point, which point is usually near the machines or presses particularly in the case of sheet steel used inautomobile plants. At the desired point of delivery, the stack S may be bodily lifted from the truck platform L by means of an overhead crane, the crane being provided with the usual sheave block and hook V having depending chains which are connected to the lifting loops 18 of the bracing apparatus for the bundle. The stack is carried by the crane and deposited at a suitable point, as shown at the right in Fig. 11. I

In the case of sheet metal, the sheets are usually fed successively from the stack into the presses or cutting machines, or other ma-' chines. In accordance with the present invention, the sheets are delivered from the storage point directly to the machines in stacks preferably approximating ten tons in weight. When a stack or pack is needed for a machine or press, it ispicked up at the storage point by means ofa crane V, (see Figs. 12 to 14 inclusive) and is delivered to a feed platform X which is positioned in close proximity to the machine. This feed platform is constructed so as to support the .sheets on their edges, and at the same time to permit the bracing apparatus to be removed while holding the sheets of each pack intact.

The feed platform X comprises, in the present instance, an inclined base and an inclined back support at right angles to the base, so that when the stack is placed upon the base, it will be canted or inclined at an angle to the vertical. The base may comprise a series of spaced wedge-shaped blocks or timbers 35 located in parallelism, and mounted on each of these blocks is a channel bar 36, four being shown in the present instance. Mounted on each channel is an upright channel post 37, and the pairs of channels are united together by means of an angle bar 38. Additional brace plates 39 are riveted to the respective base members 36 and uprights 37,

and the latter are connected at the top there-- of by means of a bar 40.

The pack of sheets andthe bracing apparatus for the pack are deposited on the inclined base members 36, as shown in Fig. 13, so that the three sets of bracing devices will lie in the spaces between the respective pairs of base and upright members 36 and 37 of the feed platform. This enables the bracing devices to be readily removed from the pack, while at the same time the pack will be supported in a canted position against the inclined back of the feed platform. The sheets may then be fed forward from the stack across the base members 36 into the machine. In Fig. 14 a sheet S isshown being fed to the machine, and this operation can be accomplished more rapidly than when the sheets dition this method prevents each sheet from being slid across the end edges and corners of the stack which heretofore resulted frequently in scratching the finished surfaces of the sheets rendering them defective.

It will, of course, be understood that the method of the present invention may be employed not only for the purpose ofunloading freight cars at destination but also for handling the metal for the purpose of loading the freight cars, the steps of the method above described being simply reversed where the metal is handled at the source of supply, such as the steel mill, for the purpose of preparing the packs and delivering them to the freight car. In the case of sheet metal, such as sheet steel, the sheets after coming off the final operation at the steel mill may be stacked on edge on the platform or buck X. The sheets will rest on their edges on the spaced support ing members 36 and against the back supporting members 37. It will be seen, therefore, that the pack will be formed, as shown in Figure 14, with the constituent sheets at an incline to the vertical. The binding devices or elements B are then applied to the pack and are disposed in the spaces between or at the sides of the members 36 and 37 After the-pack, as shown in Figure 13, is bound together as a unit, it may be lifted, as by means of a crane, see Figure 12. which is attached to the loops 18 ofthe binders. Thepack S may be deposited at storage, as indicated at the right in Figure 11, or may be deposited at the proper time by means of the crane V on the lift platform L of the lift truck T, as shown at the left in Figure 11. The

pack may then be transported or conveyed directly to the freight car on the lift truck, or other conveying medium, such as shown in Figure 1. In accordance with the present preferred manner of carrying out the invention, the pack S may be transported by the lift truck with the sheets on edge directly into the freight car into position to be straddled by means of the stack lifter U, as shown in Figure 9, and thereafter the hoisting hooks 56 of the stack lifter are connected to the loops 18 to permit the stack lifter to trans-.

"are supported fiatwise as heretofore. In adas the result of the shocks and collisions to which the cars are subjected.

It will therefore be seen that the present invention enables heavy plate or sheet material to be loaded in a freight car, transported, unloaded at its destination, and delivered to the machines with a minimum of labor, and without any substantial damage to the material as well as the freight car during transit. The loading and unloading of the cars is accomplished in a considerably less time then heretofore where it was necessary to handle separately the sheets in loading and unloading the car, while using hand trucks or trailers seldom capable of carrying on the car floor more than one ton loads, and these had to be wheeled or hauled around with their loads by hand. In addition the present invention enables sheet metal to be shipped without constant danger of breaking loose in the car and becoming crimped or scratched, or otherwise damaged during transportation. The invention prevents scratching of sheets which frequently occurred where sheets were unloaded by hand, eliminates the necessity in the case of finished steel of oiling the sheets and the consequent expense of burning off the oil and washing the sheets, and enables better enamel jobs to be done where for instance the sheets are used for automobile bodies.

What I claim is:

1. An apparatus for bracing sheets, such as sheet steel, in a freight car with the sheets of the pack on their edges, comprising devices for clamping opposite upright faces of the pack and including means of relatively soft material held by one of said devices and engaging the edges of the sheets for providing therewith an anti-shifting medium.

2. An apparatus for bracing sheets, such as sheet steel in a freight car with the sheets of the pack on their edges, comprising devices encircling the pack and adapted to be tightened for holding the sheets together as a unit, and means of relatively soft material held in position by one of said devices and engaging the edges of the sheets for providing therewith an anti-shifting medium.

3. An apparatus for bracing sheets, such as sheet steel, in a freight car with the sheets of the pack on their edges, comprising devices embracing the pack and provided with tightening means for holding the-sheets together as a unit, and means 0 relatively soft material held in position by one of said devices and frictionally engaging the bottom edges of the sheets for supporting the sheets and providing therewith an anti-shifting medium.

4. An apparatus for bracing sheets, such as sheet steel in a freight car with the sheets of the ack on their edges, comprising metallic devices embracing the pack and adapted to be tightened for holding the sheets together as a unit, and wood members held in position by one of said devices against the top andbottom edges of the sheets for frictionally engaging the edges of the sheets.

5. An apparatus for packing metal in a car comprising the combination of a pair of upright bars positioned to engage opposite vertical sides of the pack, turnbuckles each having threaded rods joining the corresponding ends of said bars, and adjusting nuts connecting the ends of the turnbuckle rods to the bars to provide with the turnbuckles a compound adjustment.

6. An apparatus for packing metal in a car comprising the combination of a pair of upright bars positioned to engage opposite vertical sides of the pack, turnbuckles each having threaded rods joining the corresponding ends of said bars, and adjusting nuts connecting the ends of the turnbuckle rods to the bars to provide with the turnbuckles a compound adjustment, each of said bars being I-shaped in cross section and having a protruding wood filler embraced thereby at one face of the bar.

7. An apparatus for packing metal in a freight car, comprising the combination of two sets of clamping devices, each comprising a pair of upri ht bars at opposite sides of the pack, means or moving said bars relativel to the gsck, means for joining the lower endg of the ars of each set to sustain the weight of the pack when lifted through the medium of said bars, and lifting eyes or loops connected to one side of each bar.

8. In an apparatus for packing metal in a freight car the combination of two sets of clamping devices, each comprisin a pair of upright bars at opposite sides 0 the pack, means for compressing said bars against the pack, means for joining the lower ends of the bars of each set to sustain the weight of the pack when lifted through the medium of said bars, and lifting eyes or loops connected to the outer side of each bar.

9. In an apparatus of the class described the combination of a pair of lifting frames adjacent opposite ends of a stack for lifting and lowering the stack, each comprising a horizontal bar extending beneath the stack, a vertical bar at each side of the stack, a stirrup for loosely connecting said vertical and horizontal bars, and means for clamping said vertical bars against the stack.

10. An apparatus for bracing sheets, such as sheet metal, in a freight car with the sheets of the pack on their edges, and comrising a pair of bars at o posite vertical aces of the pack, means or compressing said bars against the sheets, a wood member engaging the edges of the sheets at the top or bottom thereof, and means for connecting said wood member to the bars,

11. An apparatus for bracing sheets, such as sheet metal, in a freight car with the sheets of the pack on their edges, and comprising a pair of bars at opposite vertical faces of the pack, means for compressing said bars against the sheets, a pair of longitudinal spaced wood members engaging the edges of the sheets and means for connecting said members to the bars.

- 12. An apparatus for bracing sheets, such as sheet metal, in a freight car with the sheets of the pack on their edges, and comprising a pair of bars at opposite vertical faces of the pack, means or compressing said bars against the sheets, a wood member engaging the edges of the sheets at the top or bottom thereof, and a clamp for adjustably connecting said member to the bars.

13. An apparatus for bracing sheets, suchas sheet metal in a freight car with the sheets of the pack on their edges and comprising a pair of metal bars at opposite vertical faces of the pack, means for compressing said bars against the sheets, a pair of lengthwise spaced wood members engaging the edges of the sheets at the top or bottom thereof, and means for connecting said members to the bars to permit relative movement of said members and bars.

14. An apparatus for packing sheets, such as sheet metal, in a car with the sheets of the pack supported on their edges, comprisin a pair 0 metal bars at opposite vertica sides of the pack, means for compressing said bars against the pack, and devices connected to the outer sides of said bars for attaching a hoisting mechanism thereto.

15. An apparatus for transporting sheet metal in a pack on the floor of a carrier, with the sheets of the pack positioned on their edges, comprising a metallic binder encircling the pack, supporting members beneath the pack frictionally. engagin the lower edges of the sheets, and relativehy softer material than the sheets interposed between the binder and the upper edges of the sheets.

16. An apparatus for transporting sheet metal in a pack on the floor of a carrier, with the sheets of the pack positioned on their edges, comprising metallic binding means encircling the pack, wood supporting members extending transversely beneath the edges of the sheets and frictionally engaging the same, and wood members interposed between the binding means and the upper edges of the metal sheets. 7

17. An apparatus for transporting sheet metal in a packvon the floor of a carrier, with the sheets of the pack positioned on their edges, comprising a metallic binder encircling the pack for maintaining the constituent sheets of the pack together as a unit, and means interposed between the binder and the upper edges of the sheets or resisting relative vertical movement of the sheets 'of the pack.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

ROBERT T. ROMINE. 

